Tools Adam Uses

I get the occasional question regarding the gear I use. “What camera do you use?” “What microphone to you use?” “How do you capture your computer screen?”

So, I compiled pretty much all of the tools I regularly use on the Guy in a Cube channel. I also list some tools I use overall so you can see them in one spot!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the links below are affiliate links, some are not, but all of them are tools i personally use fairly regularly.

Does gear matter?

If you have had the itch to do your own videos but haven’t started because you don’t have a good camera, don’t wait for that! I started without a camera just doing screen captures. Then I added a web cam. Casey Neistat made a great video talking about this. The story and value are what matter the most! I highly recommend you watch his video.

Guy in a Cube Gear

This is the gear that Adam use for the standard Guy in a Cube videos.

Main Camera:Canon C200 – This camera is a beast. This is an actual cinema line camera. This has definitely taken things to the next level and was the next quality bump from the GH5. It is all about video and has so many features that are really amazing. If you are serious about video and have the money, I highly recommend this camera. I don’t see myself going to the next level after this. I’m pretty happy with the C200 and GH5 combination. Of course, never say never ;).

Camera Lens:Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 for Canon – This is a great lens. I have two of them. One for the GH5 and one for the C200. It is a bit pricey but well worth it. The lens probably does more for the video than the camera does. This is my main video lens that is used for the majority of videos you see on Guy in a Cube. The GH4/5 camera/lens combo I got, at the time I bought it, was considered possibly one of the best combos to get. Check out this video.

Memory Card: Transcend 128 GB High Speed 10 UHS-3 – I’m shooting 4k UHD resolution on the C200 & GH5. You want to make sure you’re using a car that can write the video files to the disk as fast as the camera is shooting it. Otherwise, if the card can’t keep up with the camera, your camera will constantly stop recording at the most inopportune times. This card keeps up with my C200 & GH5. I haven’t had any issues. Also, it has the capacity to record a little over 2 hours at that resolution. Also, I can load two of these into both cameras for different recording options.

Boom Microphone:Rode NTG4+ – I needed a new mic to work well with the C200. This is a direct XLR input into the camera and the sound quality is great.

Microphone Boom Pole:Auray MS-5230T Tripod Microphone Stand – This holds the microphone well. I don’t need any sandbags or counterweight to hold it in place. If I got a heavier microphone, I would probably need that, though.

Key Light Diffusion:Aputure Light Dome Mini – Helps to make the light softer and not so harsh. This is more personal preference.

Rim/Back Light:Aputure Light Storm LS-mini20c Bi-Color LED Light – Part of a 3 point lighting setup. This helps to separate the subject from the background. When I first set this light up, it didn’t look like it was doing anything. After I recorded, I could see the difference. This light can also be daylight or tungsten.

Background lighting:Aputure H198 Amaran CRI 95+ On Camera Daylight Temperature Light – I have two of these and probably going to get two more. These are small LED lights that could fit on my camera if I needed them to. I use them, in conjunction with some gels, to light the background a blue color. The only downside to these is they are battery only. There is probably a converter I can use to plug them in, but for now, I just use the batteries. These lay on some boxes. I’m not using any light stands for these.

Boom Microphone:Rode VideoMic & Micro Boompole Kit – This is a better microphone than the VideoMic Pro. It also came with the extension cable. I needed to pick up an MA100 screw adapter to fit it on the Auray pole. This helps to avoid the lavalier wireless microphone. The Sennheiser wireless mic is great, but it is less hassle to use the boom mic and avoid wireless signal bashing.

Travel/Vlog Gear

Travel Camera / B Camera:Panasonic GH5 – I love this camera! It has a flip-out LCD so you can see yourself and is one of the best cameras you can use for YouTube videos. I can access it wirelessly through my iPhone and I shoot natively in 4k! The camera/lens combo I got, at the time I bought it, was considered possibly one of the best combos to get. Check out this video. Now that I have the C200, this camera is mainly my travel camera.

Lens Adapter: Metabones T Speed Booster Ultra 0.71x – The GH5 camera is Micro 4/3. It also has a cropped sensor. This adapter lets you mount full EF Canon lenses, gives you an extra f-stop and provides a full frame sensor look.

Camera Lens:Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 for Canon – This is a great lens. I have two of them. One for the GH5 and one for the C200. It is a bit pricey but well worth it. The lens probably does more for the video than the camera does. This is my main video lens that is used for the majority of videos you see on Guy in a Cube. The GH4/5 camera/lens combo I got, at the time I bought it, was considered possibly one of the best combos to get. Check out this video.

Vlog lens: Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8 Lens for Canon EF – This is a wide angle lens that works with the Metabones adapter. One downside is I can’t manual focus when the lens is in the autofocus setting. I can do that with my Sigma lens. Overall, a great lens for doing vlogging with the GH5.

Mic: Rode VideoMic Pro – This is a camera mounted microphone that does a great job of picking up audio and weeding out background noise. For vlogging, you don’t want to be wired up with the wireless mic, so this is a great option that keeps it on the camera and avoids additional equipment.

Mic: Sennheiser ew 100 ENG G3 Wireless Microphone – One of the best wireless microphone systems out there! The audio is clean and I don’t have to do any audio correction in post. I used to use this microphone exclusively for my videos, but I’ve since moved to the Rode VideoMic on a boom pole. Still a great mic that I use sometimes when I travel.

Tripod: Joby GorillaPod – I use this tripod when I film in my cube. It also is great for vlogging. The legs are bendable and can wrap around anything.

Drone:DJI Mavic Pro – Very limited use for Guy in a Cube videos, but it is a tool I have in my utility belt. This is a great drone to fly also.

Camera: GoPro HERO4 Black – I use this for supplement footage. It is a great camera for action or other types of video. I don’t use this for main footage as I don’t like the look of it for straight on video like what I use for Guy in a Cube video. I have mounted it on my car though 🙂

Camera:Canon G7x Mark ii – This is one of the most popular cameras to vlog with. My wife and I just picked one of these up. Also, Patrick is using this for recording main videos on his end.

Video Editing

Desktop Computer: Check out my 2016 build. I had to get away from the laptop for editing and rendering. Rendering on the Desktop rig is soooo much better!

Laptop: HP Zbook 15 G4 – I’ve been using HP laptops for a while and this machine is a beast! I’ve got it with 64GB of RAM and two solid state drives. This is still my main work machine, but I’ve stopped using it for video editing and rendering. It may still get used when traveling, but I have a better box for that at home. See my 2016 build.

Editing Software: Adobe Creative Cloud – I edit everything with the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. This is a cloud monthly subscription. The videos are mainly edited in Premiere Pro. I also create some elements within After Effects. The thumbnails are created in Photoshop. Premiere Pro has a bit of a learning curve to it if you’re coming from something like iMovie, Windows Movie Maker or Camtasia, but learning it is definitely worth it. Your videos will be more professional and you’ll edit your videos much faster than before. When I first started with Premiere Pro I went through the Premiere Pro Essentials Training on Lynda.com, which takes about 8 hours to complete, but will save you much more time in trying to figure it all out yourself. If you want to edit with something that’s more basic and cheaper, I recommend using Adobe Premiere Elements or Camtasia.

Other Gear

Backpack: GORUCK GR2 40L – I got this backpack specifically for the large size, and the ability to hold my laptop. Most camera bags are limited. This has two massive pockets. I can even put my travel tripod inside of it. The laptop pouch is also bomb proof! Because I totally need that 😉

Microsoft Employee

Adam Saxton and Patrick LeBlanc are Microsoft employees. This site contains their personal views and are not necessarily the views of Microsoft.